


The Phanfic Game

by knlalla



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Awkward Tension, Fluff, Games, Implied past sexual situations, M/M, Never Have I Ever, Phanfiction, Poker, Post-Break Up, Truth or Dare, Two Truths and A Lie, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 18:50:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12870810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knlalla/pseuds/knlalla
Summary: "We used to play it just for fun, poker meets party games meets our weird followers, but several years ago, we’d played and things had gone a bit farther than we meant them to. So we stopped. And never spoke of it again."





	The Phanfic Game

**Dan POV**

I plopped down on the couch next to Phil, glass of wine in hand, and ended up tipping the bowl of popcorn precariously. Phil noticed, fortunately, and snagged it at the last second.

 

“Hey, y’know what we haven’t played in ages?” I prompted, taking a sip of wine. I’d had more to drink than usual, and was definitely feeling it - my inhibitions were out the window completely by the time the idea had popped into my head.

 

Phil lowered the volume on the movie we’d sat down to watch. “Mario Kart?” he asked, turning toward me and setting the popcorn back down between us.

 

“Well, yeah, I guess  _ technically _ that, too. But no, the Phanfic game!” I announced, hoping my face was too red from the wine for Phil to notice the blush I felt creeping up my cheeks.  _ The Phanfic game _ \- we used to play it just for fun, poker meets party games meets our weird followers, but several years ago, we’d played and things had gone a bit farther than we meant them to. So we stopped. And never spoke of it again.

 

Phil’s eyes went wide for a moment, but he quickly schooled his face into a more neutral expression as he considered the proposal. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said, finally, and I was hanging on his words.  _ No reason, really _ , I lied to myself,  _ I’m sure nothing will happen like it did last time _ . I could feel the fluttering in my chest, though, as I waited for a verdict.

 

When Phil didn’t answer immediately, I felt compelled to say something. “ _ Well? _ ” I asked, poking his arm with my free hand. Taking a sip of wine, I waited again.

 

“Well, what?” Phil retorted, raising his eyebrows again.  _ Were his cheeks flushed, too? Or am I imagining things? _

 

“ _ Well _ , are you afraid to lose, then?” I threw back, hoping to hook him.

 

“If I recall correctly,  _ Daniel _ , I was the reigning champion of the Phanfic game,” a wicked grin crossed his face, and I couldn’t help but mirror it.

 

“Oh, you are  _ so _ on,” I laughed, setting my glass down to grab my laptop from the coffee table. Phil did the same, bowl of popcorn now sitting where his macbook had been. “You remember the rules, right? Five minutes to find five short fics, jot them down, then we pick our fics from those at random.” I spouted the rules from memory, which was fairly simple when you spent a  _ lot _ of time thinking about the game. And the aftermath.

 

“No Hat Fic!” Phil announced, and I couldn’t tell if it was fear or humor sparkling in his eyes, but I suddenly felt the urge to get lost in them.  _ Maybe I’ll get the chance...Nope _ , I pulled myself out of that line of thought as quickly as possible.

 

“You ready?” I said, setting my phone timer. “And...go!” I pulled up some of my favorite sites, scrolled through Tumblr and the Phan tag, and had a short list within three minutes.  _ It does help when you spend quite a lot of time lost in these imaginary Phandom worlds... _ I smiled to myself, fairly satisfied with my list.

 

Phil looked deep in concentration.  _ He used to look like that, too, when we played before.  _ I thought to myself, spending my remaining time admiring his features, the way he pursed his lips as his eyes scanned the screen. The alarm startled me out of my reverie, and Phil smiled ferociously at me.  _ What on earth did he pick? _ I was extremely curious, now, as we jotted down the fics on the spare napkins on the table and mixed them around.

 

_ Shit, I’ve pulled two that I’ve never heard of before... _ I used to feel like a master of the game because I’d almost always heard of the fic before, or at least had some general idea of the premise. Phil had usually gotten lucky, or I’d let him win.

 

Phil looked over his picks then smiled up at me. “Oh, this is going to be  _ good _ ,” he laughed, and I was suddenly far more nervous than a simple game warranted.

 

\-----------------------------------------------

 

**Phil POV**

I’d pulled a few of my own picks, which was great, since I knew what they were about, but two of them were  _ not _ mine. I couldn’t help but laugh at the ones Dan had chosen, they made my strategy far simpler. Or, at least, I thought they would.

 

“I propose an extra layer of challenge,” Dan announced, reflecting my own wicked smile back at me. “Instead of playing to our advantages, we have to pick each other’s fics for the rounds.” I scanned over my own choices in a panic, wondering if any of them would derail me completely. “Unless you’re  _ scared _ ,” Dan taunted, and I looked up in surprise.  _ Dan is  _ definitely _ drunk _ , I decided.  _ Which will only make my job easier _ , I chuckled, then nodded. Then shook my head, realizing what he’d asked.

 

“I’m not afraid of you, Danny boy, you know I rock this game.” In truth, it had been years since we’d played - the final round that night had left things a bit awkward between us, and we hadn’t brought it up since. The game itself was always fun, but we’d gotten a bit too...well, neither of us was in our right minds.  _ At least, Dan surely wasn’t.  _

 

“Alright, then,  _ Round One _ ,” Dan announced, and it sounded suspiciously like his “Dan vs Phil” voice. 

 

“Wait!” I jumped up from the couch, running to the office to grab a pen and paper. Dan was watching me quizzically as I returned. “For keeping score,” I said, wiggling the paper at him by way of explanation. When I’d settled on the couch again, tossing a handful of popcorn in my mouth along the way, Dan held up his pile of fic napkins.

 

“Go on, then” he prompted, so I pulled one out and read out the title.  _ Hah, one of mine! This’ll be good _ . He repeated the process for me, and I couldn’t help the triumphant smile that spread across my face. Dan started the timer again, setting it at five minutes, and we dove in.

 

He pulled up his fic, scanning through it, and I did the same. As my eyes scrolled the screen, I kept count on my fingers.  _ Yes, I buy him a box of maltesers, and - oh! Here, existential crisis, perfect. Wait, does that count as wearing all black? _ I muddled through the fic for a few moments, focusing on the “on brand” features and hoping to get all five against Dan - maltesers, existential crises, all black attire, dimples, and some wild card that I could assign. I ran through it again, cursing silently.  _ I can use the llama thing as my wild card, but no dimples! Shit… _

 

The ringing of the alarm interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up. To see a  _ very _ smug Dan sitting across from me.

 

“Lions, bright clothes, blue eyes, tongue poking out when you laugh,  _ and _ your love of animals as my wild card.” Dan grinned and flourished a hand in my direction. “Your turn!” I grumbled through my list, adding that there was no mention of dimples, which caused him to toss a victory punch in the air and reach for his wine.

 

“Alright, alright, you win that round, but you’ve not yet won the war!” I said, attempting to show some confidence. Dan took a sip -  _ was the glass already half-empty? _ \- as he watched me place a mark under his column. We pulled out our fic napkins again, the already-used ones getting tossed aside onto the table.

 

“Round Two!” Dan announced, and I let him pick my fic first.

 

\--------------------------------------------

 

**Dan POV**

I tried not to do a completely embarrassing victory dance at my win, but I wiggled in my seat anyway, and punched a fist into the air. Feeling heady on confidence, I went for a sip of wine. 

 

“Round Two!” I nearly shouted, waving my hand over the napkins as Phil lifted his fics for me to select. I made a show of picking one, then tossing it lightly at him. It fluttered around before he grabbed it, and I gave him a cheeky smirk.

 

“Quit acting so smug!” Phil said, frowning, but I could see the amusement in his eyes as he pulled one for me. “Okay, the two-truths-and-a-lie round, right? So we each come up with three things, two actually happen in the fic and the other is just random.”

 

I nodded, eyes focused on the screen as I pulled up my fic. I didn’t glance at it once it was up, but I wished I had. Instead, I opted to look up and add to his statement about the rules. “Right, and the goal is to get me to guess wrong.” I got the timer ready, and hit the start button when Phil nodded.

 

Then I noticed one of the tags in my fic.

 

“ _ Fucking hell, Phil! _ ” It was one of Phil’s choices, and one of us died in it.  _ That was a risky move, when he could’ve been the one to pick it... _ I paused the timer, and Phil just stared at me as I crinkled my eyebrows at him. Then he smiled. Wide.

 

“You got the one! The one where one of us dies!” He laughed and I went red in the face - not from the wine, this time. I threw my hands in the air, exasperated at this development.

 

“Alright, alright, go on, then. What’s my handicap?” I said, hands now covering my face and muffling my words.

 

Phil hummed, taking an irritatingly long time to decide. “Aha!” he said, finger in the air like Sherlock Holmes. Before I could ask, he hopped off the sofa and disappeared down the hall to our rooms. And returned with one of his ties.

 

“This is the best I have, but - wait, no, stand up, turn around,” he instructed, walking over to me. I stood, a bit wobbly from the wine, and turned around.

 

“That’s not how I like anything to start,” I joked, pulling a line from an old PINOF. Phil chuckled at the reference, and the corner of my mouth tugged up wryly. Until the tie wrapped tightly around my wrists and trapped my arms behind my back.

 

“No, Phil! You can’t be serious, how am I supposed to even scroll or anything! I have to be able to read the fic to play the game!” I protested, wiggling my arms and hands behind me as he tied a final knot.

 

“You’ll figure it out, I’m sure,” he said, voice laden with the smirk I couldn’t see. “Not too tight, right?” He asked, and the smugness softened a bit. I wiggled again, shooting a death glare over my shoulder, but nodded anyway.

 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” I grumbled, returning awkwardly to my spot. I stared at my laptop for a full ten seconds before Phil actually burst out laughing.

 

“I’m so sorry, it was such a good handicap!” He was lost in a fit of giggles, despite the return of my death glare, and I struggled to change my position to something that  _ might _ work. It had been a while, but I had done a pretty decent job of playing Xbox with my feet.

 

Phil’s giggles returned to full-force laughter at my new position, hands trapped behind me and one leg stuck up so I could press the keys with my toe. My face flushed again at the hilariously humiliating situation. 

 

“ _ Phil, _ ” I whined - I knew I was being whiny, and he couldn’t say no when I was whiny - “it’s gonna take me like  _ five full minutes _ just to find the fic, that’s not fair at  _ all _ ,” I kept the tone, pulling out my puppy-dog eyes.

 

As expected, Phil relented. “Fine, fine, you have one freebie that you can use, where I’ll find the fic for you, but otherwise, you’re on your own!” I flashed him a smile. Handicap or not, I was going to win this. Probably. Maybe.

 

Phil took my phone and started the timer, and I dove into the fic.  _ Something about...oh man, that doesn’t sound like something I’d do in real life, that’ll be one of the truths _ . I skimmed across the lines, searching for some weird words that might throw Phil’s guessing. As I hit the bottom of the screen, I gingerly tapped my toe on the down arrow, and it jumped a few lines. Grunting at the uncomfortable position, I read on.  _ Maybe...oh, I say “I love you” in this one, like twelve times, that’ll be another, _ I kept my eyes scanning across the screen but let my mind wander, trying to come up with a lie. 

 

The alarm jolted me from my thoughts, and Phil looked up at the same time I did. He gestured to me, indicating I should start, so I rattled off both truthful situations and slipped my lie in the middle. The fic wasn’t all that smutty, but I figured I’d throw something in there that toed the line.  _ I’m at a serious disadvantage, he picked this fic - I guess I just have to hope he didn’t read it fully _ . I held a steady expression as he guessed. 

 

“Hmmm...I’m thinking the sex is fake. I don’t recall seeing a smut tag,” he smiled, and I sneered at him. And hoped the facial expression would hide the blood rushing to my cheeks.  _ Why’d I have to come up with a sexual one? He probably thinks my mind is in the gutter now...not that it isn’t, but still... _

 

“That’s hardly fair, you already knew  _ exactly _ which one I had,” I grumbled, then listened as he rattled off his three statements. My sneer-turned-frown became a triumphant smile.  _ Looks like he’s got one of the ones I picked, as well _ . I recognized one of the events, which was very specific. The others I didn’t, but I could’ve sworn there was something about us making out in the rain, so I opted for the other. “The fake one is the bondage one,” I concluded, snorting a bit at the irony of the comment, given the way I was currently restrained.

 

“Ooh, not quite!” Phil smiled, and I dropped my jaw. Not only had he put me at a disadvantage for the rest of the game, but he’d just won a round as well.  _ This took a shit turn.  _ “But, but-” I sputtered, “no! I definitely don’t remember  _ bondage _ !” I tried, hoping to win on a technicality or something.

 

“Well you clearly didn’t read far enough, then,” Phil smiled, turning his screen around to show me.  _ Fucking hell... _ I read a few lines before turning from the screen.  _ Do  _ not _ get turned on by that, not now, we’re kind of having fun, I don’t want it to get weird again… _

 

“Whatever,” I mumbled, trying to will away the growing problem in my sweatpants.  _ And I picked the worst clothes to wear while playing, of course _ … “Let’s get on to round three, then,” I said, trying to divert his attention. He added a tally to his column before pulling one of my fics at random. He didn’t look, but laid it out in front of me.  _ Okay, this is one of my favorites, perfect _ , I nodded, trying not to get too cocky.  _ Shit, _ I cursed internally as my own cock twitched.

 

Phil held up his napkins, and I indicated the farthest to my left. Phil mirrored my nod, evidently pleased with the selection, and pulled up the fic. I stared at my screen, scrunching up my face.

 

“Phil, come on, you have to let me go so I can pull it up!” I complained, and Phil just laughed and stood.

 

“Ready to use your freebie so quickly?” He taunted, and I thought for a moment before shaking my head. “How about I go get you some more wine, and a straw,” he chuckled, I frowned, “and I want some Ribena, so I’ll let you work on finding that fic,” he turned from me, but I glared daggers at his back until I couldn’t see him. Then I kept staring. “Hope you’ve got it up, I’m almost done!” Phil called, and I’d have flipped him off if I could move my hands.

 

It took some maneuvering, but I managed to get a rhythm of typing with my foot that was moderately bearable. By the time Phil had returned, I had at least gotten to the search page and was almost finished typing the title. He held the straw up to my lips, and I sipped exaggeratedly as he laughed at me before focusing on my task. Phil dropped heavily to the sofa, jostling me and the laptop.

 

“Phil,” I groaned, “do you ever want me to find this stupid fic?” I complained, typing the last few letters and managing to pull up it up. “Alright, okay, I think I’m ready,” I readjusted myself, glad to feel that the pressure in my pants had lessened. “Do you want to go first? We each get, what, five tries?”

 

\-----------------------------------------------

 

**Phil POV**

“Yeah, five, and the person who guesses the most tags wins.” I’d already taken a few sips of my Ribena in the time it took Dan to finish searching - _really, that was a masterful handicap, and fuck if it wasn’t sexy-_ _Abort, abort,_ I tried to pull my mind back to the situation at hand. “I’m going to go basic, how about...Phan?” I knew what his reaction would be, but I wanted to see if I could get away with it.

 

“No, no, not allowed,” Dan gave me a look.

 

“Alright, alright, I know, I was just testing. No ‘smut’ or ‘fluff’ either, right?” I was just fishing for time, trying to come up with a generic tag that wasn’t against the rules. When Dan nodded, I allowed myself another few moments to think, then decided on a course of action. “Happy ending!” I tried.  _ That’s still pretty vague, but there are enough fics out there where one of us dies that it should still count _ , I reasoned.

 

“Fucking hell, fine, you get that one,” Dan paused for a minute, reading over the tags on his own fic, before making a decision. “Friends to lovers.” I groaned. That one covered half the fics out there, including mine.

 

“One to one, it seems,” I paused again.  _ What’s broad but not too general? _ My thoughts went straight to the gutter. Though, really, they’d never left.  _ I can’t have the second thing I say be sexual, that’ll just make things weird again, but I have no idea what else to say? Oh! _ “Pastel Dan,” I tried, since our viewers seemed to love the idea of him being soft. _ It’s not a bad look on him… _

 

Dan grinned back at me. “Nope!” I crossed my arms, trying to look frustrated, but it wasn’t very successful.  _ He’s just too cute, how can I even pretend to be annoyed? _ Instead, I took a sip of my Ribena as Dan made his next decision. “My turn - anal.” I almost choked, and ended up coughing and sputtering as Dan’s face turned a shade of red to match his wine. Then  _ he _ was sputtering - “I mean, it’s not smut, it’s more specific, and you said it was friends to lovers, and…” he trailed off, biting his lip, and it took everything I had not to jump him right then and give his lips something else to bite.  _ Where the hell did that come from? _ I shook my head, mostly to clear it.  _ Focus. _

 

“Ugh, no! That’s one of the tags, come on!” I almost shouted, trying to push past the awkward moment. “Alright, no more funny business. Bondage.” I announced my guess, and the Dan’s jaw dropped. “Was that one?” I asked, keeping my fingers crossed. I needed a win. Dan kept staring. “Well?” I prompted, and he finally shut his mouth, eyes finally leaving my face to scan the screen.

 

“Hah!” He chuckled, but he looked a bit nervous. “Nope, not one of them.”

 

“You’re lying!” I challenged, honing in on how shifty he seemed all of a sudden.

 

“No, I’m not, I swear!” he let out a breathy chuckle, and I gave him a sideways glance.

 

“Alright, fine, but quit acting so nervous then,” I gestured toward him to take his turn.

 

“I’m not-” he cut himself off, “Okay. My guess is….” he drew the ‘s’ out, scanning his own screen fervently, “2012.” He didn’t meet my gaze.

 

“How are you so good at this?” I grumbled, but my heart wasn’t in it. 2012 happened to be the last time we’d played the game, and everyone knew  _ something _ happened back then. We didn’t talk about it, but almost every fic author out there had given their spin on our falling out. “It’s, what, three to one, and you’re winning? And we each get two more shots?” Dan nodded, and I was suddenly desperate to lighten the mood. “Well, I’m screwed, then, aren’t I?” I chuckled, hoping to get at least a smile from Dan, but to no avail. “I’ll give it a shot,” I thought for a moment, then tried a different route. “Is it a high school AU?” 

 

“It is not!” Dan smiled - it was mostly a smirk, but it was worth throwing the round. “Which means I won the round and am currently in the  _ lead _ , Philip Lester!” I made some attempt at looking disappointed, but I wasn’t really upset. When Dan smiled lately, it was always genuine. I went to add another mark to his column.

 

“Fine, fine! You won that one, but there are still two more rounds, and I am taking you  _ down _ !” I emphasized, poking a finger in his chest and laughing when he couldn’t retaliate. Until he shoved a foot into my face and I almost fell off the sofa trying to avoid it.

 

“Handicap, my ass!” Dan was smiling again, and I was once again feigning annoyance. “Come on, bring on round four!”

 

\-------------------------------------------

 

**Dan POV**

“The never-have-I-ever round,” Phil hadn’t seemed too upset when I brought up 2012, so I tried to move past it as well.  _ Maybe he forgot about it... _ the thought hurt my heart, though.  _ Could he have forgotten? I certainly haven’t… _

 

“Right, so we ‘adopt’ our personas in the fic, and we have to try to guess three things the other’s fictional version has done. You can go first,” Phil filled the gap of silence I’d left open, and reached over to toss me one of my two remaining fic napkins. I poked one of his with a toe before trying to pull up the mercifully short-titled fic on my laptop. 

 

I gave Phil a moment to scan over his own fic - I’d read mine already, very recently, in fact. “Ready?” Phil looked up and nodded, so I threw out a fairly generic one about making out with me.  _ This is where it crosses into dangerous territory, _ I let my head wander as Phil skimmed the screen to see if his fictional persona had made out with the fic-Dan -  _ usually he has - _ and I tried to remember what his lips had felt like on mine. It was a very long time ago, though, and Phil answered before I managed to think back that far.

 

“Yeah, okay, strike one on me,” Phil nodded, as though he’d expected it. When he looked back up from the screen, I realized I was staring. His fringe had fallen across his eyes, just a bit, and I wanted to reach out and fix it. Which I couldn’t do.  _ And shouldn’t do. _ I dropped my gaze, waiting for Phil’s guess. “You have definitely fantasized about me, naked,” Phil smirked, but his cheeks were flushed -  _ were they? Am I making that up? _ For a moment, I forgot about the game and the wine took over, pouring delicious images of Phil into my head.

 

Until he waved a hand in front of my face. Then I was the one turning red, eyes trying desperately to focus on the fic in front of me. I paged down a bit, reading slowly in case I missed something.

 

“Nope! Better be careful, Philly, I’m  _ very _ good at this,” I smiled, and he laughed. “I think you - uh,  _ Phil _ has pushed my hair out of my eyes,” the amendment, the reminder that it wasn’t the  _ real _ Phil, felt very necessary - I was not in the best position to be imagining Phil and I that close. Covering a hard-on at the moment was almost impossible, but I pulled a leg up toward my chest, just in case.

 

“Aw, no, another one? This is so unfair!” I had read so many fics at this point, it was easy to guess what fictional Phil would’ve done. I smirked at him, though, trying to keep his attention on the upper half of my body. “I’ve got it,” Phil said, scanning through his own fic again before meeting my gaze. “Dan, you fell in love with me.” I inhaled sharply, dropping my gaze.

 

_ You know that isn’t what he meant, breathe, he doesn’t know, just focus on the game, _ the rational piece of my mind chimed in, and I exhaled the breath I’d been holding as I read through the fic, searching for that one terrifying word. But I knew I’d find it.  _ I always fall for him. _ After identifying the offending word, I scrunched my nose up and gave Phil a look.

 

“You got that one, I suppose,” I conceded - I was still ahead. One more correct guess and I’d win, not just this round, but the entire game. I hummed for a moment, trying to decide on the nature of the fic Phil had. “Oh! You definitely wear your glasses at some point.” Phil with glasses was a fan favorite, and much safer territory than love and sex.

 

“Ooh, sorry Danny boy!” Phil was the one doing a victory dance, though he hadn’t yet won, and I leaned back slightly. It was very challenging to look annoyed with hands tied behind my back. “Okay, okay, you bottom,” I was suddenly glad for my relaxed position, because sitting up gave me an excuse to pull  _ both _ my knees toward my chest. This fic absolutely had me bottoming, which was a fantasy I’d lived out in my head and via phanfiction more times than I could count. And I was not about to let Phil see just  _ how much _ I enjoyed that concept.

 

“Oh, come on, I - er, fictional Dan always bottoms! That doesn’t count,” I grumbled, but I couldn’t win the argument - and Phil knew it. He smiled at me, eyes flashing with excitement, and I swore I could see a glint of something...more.  _ Dan, you’re making things up again, it’s the wine talking. _ I rushed to come up with another situation, anything that would get me the win before Phil said something else I couldn’t hide from. “You, uh,” my fantasies wouldn’t let me alone, and I ended up spitting out the first thing that came to mind, “you suck me off,” I would’ve gone to cover my mouth, but I was a bit tied up.

 

I raised my gaze hesitantly, only to find Phil scanning his laptop screen.  _ Well, I must look like a right tomato at this point. At least some of the blood is going somewhere _ other  _ than my dick _ . When he looked up, I almost dropped my eyes, but he seemed to not have noticed the way I was reacting. 

 

“Hah! Nope!” He was ecstatic, and I was starting to wonder if I might lose this round after all.

 

\-----------------------------------------------

 

**Phil POV**

Dan was blushing like crazy. I couldn’t tell if it was the wine, the suggestive topics, or something else altogether, but it was adorable. And I couldn’t help myself - I made an effort to shock him with my guesses, to watch his gaze drop shyly. I ended up shocking  _ myself _ when I actually got a few of them right.

 

“Third time’s the charm!” I tacked a laugh onto the end, brainstorming my next attack. “How about...oh! That’s it,” I smiled, “ _ you moan my name when you cum _ .” I said it quietly, then let it sit in silence, watching Dan’s reaction. I wasn’t immune, though - I might’ve been blushing myself, though I could feel that the majority of my blood was headed elsewhere. I held Dan’s wide gaze - he looked like a deer in headlights - until he broke it to read through the fic.

 

And collapsed back against the cushion of the sofa. “How on earth did you get  _ three in a row _ ?” He whined, and I laughed at his dramatic reaction.

 

“I guess things have taken a turn! You shouldn’t mess with the  _ master _ !” I joked, making another mark in my column. “Two to two, looks like this is the  _ death match _ !” I had already moved on, past my winning guess, but Dan was still acting a bit uncomfortable. “If you want to keep playing, that is,” I amended. Things had gotten...well, we’d gotten carried away during the final round all those years ago. “I understand if you want to call it a draw, and we can go back to watching the movie,” I noticed how much my voice had softened.

 

The truth was, I had been beyond ecstatic when things went the way they did back then. Dan had pretended it never happened, and I didn’t want to hurt him, so I let it go. We were a little broken for a while, but we’d come back together as best friends, and I wasn’t going to try to push him into a situation he might regret again.

 

“No, let’s do this. I can’t have you thinking you’re still the champion! Bring on truth or dare,” Dan grinned, sitting back up and attempting to type in his last fic. While I loved watching him struggle, I rolled my eyes and pulled the fic up for him.

 

“You never used your freebie, so I’ll do it for you. Besides, you’re about to be  _ crushed _ ,” we both laughed, and I sat back to pull up my final fic. “Okay, so truth or dare based on things in the fic, and if you won’t do it, you automatically lose the round.” Dan nodded his agreement, and waited for me to begin.

 

\----------------------------------------

 

**Dan POV**

It was Phil’s turn to start. I was a little surprised he’d brought up the idea of stopping before the final round, as if he really  _ did _ remember what had happened all those years ago.  _ Maybe he wanted an excuse to stop, _ I mentally cursed myself for refusing his offer.  _ Now he feels like he has to go through with it, I didn’t let him have an easy out _ . 

 

But Phil was already scanning his fic, so I went back to mine to do the same. Another of my own fics, and pretty vanilla for my standards. I wondered what Phil’s looked like. There were technically no limits to what could be asked in truth or dare, so it could be as simple as “I dare you to lay on the floor” or as intense as “I dare you to fuck me”, as long as proof was shown that it was something the fic version of the person said or did.

 

“Truth or dare?” Phil’s question startled me from my hazy memories. I was never much about the truths, they tended to lean uncomfortably toward the deep stuff. 

 

“Dare, you know that’s my answer,” I shot him a raised eyebrow and waited for his command. He spun his laptop around, preparing to show me the situation I’d be putting myself in. 

 

“I dare you,” Phil searched the screen again, finger pointing out a few lines, “to take off your shirt.” I leaned in toward the laptop, confirming that the Dan in the fic had done so, and was immediately reminded of my current handicap. 

 

“Well you’ve made it literally impossible for me to do that, so I guess you’ll have to pick something else!” I shrugged, my shoulders aching a bit at the awkward angle my arms were restrained at.

 

“Oh, alright, turn around,” I adjusted, spinning so he had access to my wrists, and sighed in relief when I could move my arms again. I stood, swinging them out and around for a bit, until Phil caught my eye. “Well?” His eyebrows went up, then, and I realized at that exact moment my  _ problem _ from earlier had not quite gone away. 

 

If Phil noticed, though, he didn’t say. Just prompted me once again to remove my shirt. I turned around, taking half a second to adjust myself, and pulled my shirt off. “Happy now?” I asked, and he smiled. I returned to the sofa, feeling oddly exposed - though being shirtless around Phil wasn’t a new thing, it felt strange, given the circumstances.

 

I scrolled through my fic, looking for something I’d hoped would be enough to make him refuse. But I had to be careful, I couldn’t go too over the top, in case he took it the wrong way.  _ Not that I don’t want him, I just don’t want him to hate me for wanting him like that _ . I settled on a pretty safe one, then asked.

 

“Truth or dare, Phil?” He looked up from studying his screen, and pursed his lips for a moment.

 

“Truth,” he decided, and I was thrown for a loop. I scrolled back through my fic, trying to come up with a good confession or question. But it wasn’t a very long one, and my options were limited. 

 

“Have you ever, er, thought about me while masturbating?” my voice was so soft, I was a little surprised he heard it. Everything from my toes to my ears was turning red, but I tried to act casual. I pointed to the lines on the screen, where fic-Phil admits to it, and Phil read them for a few moments.

 

I actually didn’t even realize he’d responded, but his head was ducked and he was nodding sheepishly. 

 

“Wait, you have?” I was shocked, he had  _ never _ mentioned thinking about me like that.  _ It must’ve been years ago, right when we first met. There’s no way he still thinks of me that way. I would be able to tell, right? _ I reasoned through this in my head, hopes falling drastically; Phil never confirmed it aloud, but moved right on into the next question.

 

“Truth or dare?” his voice was still low, head still ducked, so I went along with it. Despite every question fluttering through my head.

 

“Dare, obviously,” I added, trying to drop the previous topic. If it hadn’t been dead silent, I would’ve entirely missed his next words.

 

“ _ Kiss me. _ ”

 

\----------------------------------

 

**Phil POV**

This was going to turn out exactly like it had the last time, but I couldn’t help myself. So I dared him to kiss me. 

 

He looked stunned for a moment, but recovered almost immediately. And he was actually leaning toward me.

 

His lips on mine felt ten times better than anything I’d daydreamed about. But he pulled away after just the lightest touch, and I almost reached out to pull him back. Instead, I assessed his reaction - he didn’t look angry, or upset, or  _ anything _ , really. Confused, perhaps. As he settled back in his spot on the sofa, he cleared his throat. I watched his eyes drop to the screen in front of him. Where they’d been sifting lightly through the fic before, they were now searching feverishly for something. A moment later, he spoke.

 

“Truth or dare?” It was his normal voice, but it suddenly seemed so loud in the wake of the kiss. 

 

“Truth,” the last ‘truth’ had been tough to admit, but I was honestly terrified of what he might do if I said ‘dare’. At least, with the truth, he hadn’t specified whether or not I’d thought about him  _ recently _ .

 

“What’s something you’ve been hiding from me?” His voice was soft again, and I pretended to read the paragraph that he’d pointed out. I knew I could take the easy route, say something about eating his cereal again, or about skipping ahead in the show we were watching together, but this felt like a bigger question. A question that required a bigger answer. I took a steadying breath.

 

“The last time we played this game…” I trailed off, a bit unsure. I didn’t want to put him in an uncomfortable position, but I was trying to be honest. “Some things...happened. I don’t know if you wanted them to, or if we got carried away, but…” I took another breath, and my words came out hushed. “I did. I wanted that. I  _ want _ that.” I said the last piece softly, so softly that I wondered if I’d even said it at all. I couldn’t take my eyes off the spot on the sofa between us. I was terrified of his reaction.  _ Amazing how something so buried in the past can still have such an impact _ .

 

“You  _ what _ ?” It came out as a breath more than words, but I heard them. And immediately felt like the  _ worst _ person. 

 

“I’ve just ruined our friendship, haven’t I?” I exhaled sharply and lifted my face to find Dan sitting forward, head tilted slightly and staring at me with his mouth wide open. “Are you not...angry?” I couldn’t read his facial expression, he looked more bewildered than anything. Then he was shaking his head, eyes closed and a small smile pushing up the corners of his mouth. 

 

“Okay, I’m really confused now. Dan, can you please say something?” I could feel my hands shaking, just a little, but I was really worried now.  _ He obviously hates me, he’s going to up and leave, I’ll never even see him again.  _ “Maybe I should just…” I moved to stand up, but then Dan was on top of me, pinning me down.

 

“Wait, no, please, don’t go! I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect…” he trailed off, and I realized just how close his face was to mine. And it was getting closer.

 

“Dan,” I barely had the strength to speak with his lips so close to mine, but I wasn’t about to let him do something he’d regret. “Dan, are you sure about this? Is this what you want? I don’t want you to regret it, like last time.” At this, he stilled, and my heart broke a little.

 

“Phil, you think…?” He stared at me incredulously, so close I could feel his breaths against my lips. And then he closed the gap, and  _ damn it all _ but I had no intention of stopping him. It was a gentle kiss at first, but he quickly deepened it. I wrapped an arm around his torso and pulled him against me, my other hand running up through his hair. We stayed that way for a few moments before Dan pulled back and I prepared my heart for the inevitable rejection.

 

“You thought, all those years ago…” again, he left it, giving a breathy laugh. He shook his head, then dropped it so he rested completely on top of me. “You thought I regretted it,” he mumbled into my shoulder. Somehow, talking like this was easier.

 

“You never said a word, after that night,” I said, staring at the ceiling but keeping a soft grip on his back. “I assumed...well, I assumed you thought it was a mistake. I didn’t want to take advantage of you, so I backed off.” It sounded so silly, now.  _ Time brings perspective. _

 

“I was terrified that  _ you _ regretted it,” I could feel his warm breaths against my shoulder, the light rumble of his voice against my chest. “I have…” he inhaled deeply, and I felt his chest expand. “I have been in love with you. This entire time. Hell, since the day we met.” The words were muffled and distorted by my shoulder, but my heart caught them all. 

 

My other hand drew small circles across Dan’s shoulder blade, and I turned my head slightly to face him. “I love you too.” I felt my chest grow incredibly light, and I was suddenly giddy about it all. About us, about where we could go, about the man I was absolutely in love with. I wanted to live in that exact moment for my entire life. 

 

“So...I won, right?” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, lovelies! If you'd like, feel free to give it a cheeky [reblog on tumblr](https://knlalla.tumblr.com/post/168045701067/the-phanfic-game)
> 
> Rules of the Phanfic game:
> 
> Each player has 5 minutes to pick 5 short (<3k word) phanfics. The fics are written down and shuffled, then drawn from randomly. These fics, for all intents and purposes, become “cards”. There are 5 rounds, each with different rules, and the players will select which fic they want to use for each round.
> 
> Round 1: Poker: Players, as either Dan or Phil, must identify as many of the previously decided “on brand” references as possible, up to five. Rules from this game:
> 
> Phil: lions, bright clothing, blue eyes, tongue poking out while laughing, and a wild card.
> 
> Dan: all-black attire, existential crises, maltesers, dimples, and a wild card
> 
> The wild card can be used as anything mentioned in the fic that all parties agree is on brand for the person in question. If there is a tie, players can search the fic for more references, which must be agreed to be on brand by all parties, until there is a winner.
> 
> Round 2: Two Truths and a Lie: Players must select two events from their respective fics and invent a third, false, one. The guesser must try to guess the false event. This continues until there is a winner (ie losing eliminates a player or players, then a new set of events is proposed, until someone is left standing)
> 
> Round 3: Battleship: Players must identify as many tags as possible of opposing players, five maximum guesses. Players cannot guess “Phan”, “fluff”, or “smut”, or anything else deemed too general by the majority of the other players. The person with the fewest strikes against them is the winner. When there’s a tie, a tie-breaker round between said players ensues.
> 
> Round 4: Never Have I Ever: Players, as either Dan or Phil, must guess things that opposing players have done (as their characters) in their respective fics. A player loses after 3 strikes against them (after 3 guesses against them have been correct).
> 
> Round 5: Truth or Dare: Players must use situations, questions, or confessions within their respective fics to come up with truth questions or dares for their opponents. A player loses when they refuse to do the truth or dare assigned.
> 
> Additional Rules:
> 
> Players who select or end up with a fic with a major character (Dan or Phil) death can be given a handicap from that point onward, as determined by the other player(s).  
> For an additional layer of challenge, opposing players can select each others’ fics at random.


End file.
